"Captain Atreus, I would like to thank you for your assistance. After the last time we met, you were the last person I expected to come to our aid." Qui-Gon Jinn said with a small bow as he stopped in front of my pillar on the bridge.
We found the small personnel transport floating in interstellar space. It was a wreck, the only place with any air left was the small cockpit with five people in it and it barely had enough power left to use the emergency transmitter.
They were really lucky we were less than five hours away or they might have run out of the air before help arrived.
As they didn't have any air in the rest of the ship and as such could not get to the airlock, we did something a bit tricky.
We undocked a cargo shuttle and opened the cargo bay of it before moving it around the small ship, locking it into the shuttles large cargo bay before the shuttle returned to land on the Rememberance's landing bay.
Immediately afterward Remembrance returned to hyperspace, our course set for Coruscuant.
The wounded were transferred to the medical bay and Dooku was relocated to the brig as soon as he was stable enough to move.
I shifted my wings in a shrug. "If I want somebody dead, I will shoot them, Jedi Jinn. Allowing somebody to choke to death in the empty void is not something I will do if I can be avoided. While I have a particular dislike of your master, I have none for you, nor the other people that were with you on that ship. Leaving you all to die for the mistake of one man, is not me."
He bowed again "Thank you, Captain Atreus. May I ask what our destination is?"
I nodded and called up a map of the galaxy for him. "Courscuant. We are looking for another cargo and that is always a good place for it. The fact that we can drop you and your people off at the same time is just a bonus."
Jinn nodded as he crossed his arms. "We were on our way back there when the hyperdrive exploded. Likely a going-away present from the crime syndicate we were investigating."
"You know, for a group that can see the future, you are quite easy to ambush as long as you are not direct about it. Something to think about, young Jedi... the force is no substitute for thinking things through first and proper security procedures." I said as I climbed down from the pillar and ruffled my feathers. "Isyour master going to make it?"
The Jedi frowned slightly at my words but then nodded at my question. "Yes. Your medical droid says he will be fine when he gets to a proper hospital and that he is doing well. I can see why you thought the brig was necessary, Captain, but were five assassin droid guards really needed?"
I raised my head feathers in amusement as I looked down at the small human."Mobile security turrets. Everyone seems to make that mistake. But no, they are not to keep him in. He is a Jedi so I assume he has more sense than to try to leave, no matter what miscalculations he has done in the past. The turrets are not there to keep him in, they are to keep my chief engineer out..."
XXXXXXXXXXX
Sarah Honor crossed her arms and stared out the window at the departing shuttle as it undocked from the ship and started its trek down to the surface.
I looked down at her as I joined her. "Look at it like this: At least we are rid of them now." I said.
She scowled but then she nodded. "Yeah. Still, I would have liked five minutes alone with the bastard that destroyed my girl."
"I hardly like the whiteboned ground digger, but you know I could not allow that even if he was conscious." I finally said, looking down at her. I had been mostly joking with Jinn, but there was some bit of truth to what I said.
Sarah was pissed at Dooku.
She finally sighed before straightening up her posture. "Shore leave now, Captain?" she asked.
I nodded. "Extended. I think we can afford to put a couple of extra days in the end despite the empty run we just did. Did some nice profit on this last leg."
My engineer blinked and turned away from the window to look up at me. "Did the Jedi pay you for saving their people?" she asked.
I shifted my wings and spread my feathers happily. "Not exactly. According to Republic salvage law, if we find a damaged ship and bring it back, as long as none of the crew claim it before they leave our vessel, it belongs to us. None of them did."
She looked at me for a moment before she shook hre head. "I checked the ship out. She's a wreck, Captain. Not even I could ever get that thing back into the air."
Trilling happily, I shook my head. "You don't need to. I'll sell it as scrap. With all the parts that still work, it should be worth at least as much as we take for a full cargo run." I said before I started to make my way towards my quarters, I had some things to pick up before readying the second shuttle for launch.
In retrospect, it might have been better to have the main office stationed on Coruscuant considering how often we end up here.
Still, while my crew had their time off, I had to sell the wreck, find cargo and pick up my weapon from the arms-dealer. I should even have some time to work on the engine assembly of my armor.
Halfway done.
I took another look around my quarters after checking that my com device worked. Not going to go out with a broken com again.
My eyes stopped at the door to my safe. The holocron was in there... and while I did say to Jinn that the force is no substitute for common sense, it is still damn useful.
Perhaps I should continue my own education in it.
Letting out a breath, I shook my head and started to make my way towards the heavy shuttle. I might have some time over for that once we are back in hyperspace.